by Nonomura Noboru, chancellor
Kwassui Gakuin, Nagasaki City
The road that leads up the Higashi (east) Yamate hill in the city of Nagasaki has become known as “Dutch Slope.” This is because at the beginning of the Meiji Era a foreign settlement was established in this area, so it was usual to come into contact with foreigners here. Part way up the slope is the main gate of Kwassui Women’s College; by going through it and climbing up the stone steps, the view at the top suddenly becomes visible. On the right are the lawns of the campus grounds and the red roofs of the college buildings, while across the valley on the left is Glover Garden and the sea beyond.
Three camphor trees tower above the way into Kwassui’s college campus,their thickly growing branches and leaves stretched out as if they are holding out their arms to welcome visitors to the campus. The founder herself is said to have planted these trees, and this is also mentioned in the school song. At the time of Kwassui’s 126th anniversary in December 2005, the school erected a plaque near the camphor trees to commemorate the missionaries who have been sent to Kwassui throughout its history. On it are engraved the names of 76 missionaries, all of them women.
The inscription reads as follows. “In 1879, two missionaries crossed the Pacific from distant America and came to Nagasaki. They immediately opened a girls’ school with a Christian basis. This was how Kwassui Gakuin was established. Since then, for 126 years, undaunted by a great

The 2007 Missional Planning Conference was held on March 10-11 at Fujimicho Church. The main topic was “Kyodan’s Evangelism and Cooperative Efforts in that Endeavor” and the subtitle was “150 Years Since the Beginning of Protestant Evangelism in Japan.” The 72 participants were able to delve deeply into the topic at hand and significant insight and learning were achieved as they fellowshipped together.

Takahashi Jun, chairperson of the Commission on Ecumenical Ministries, stated that “although the question has been raised as to whether it is even possible to have a missional planning conference without a plan, we all agreed that without the delegates coming together to deliberate, there would be no progress.” In his greeting the host said, “It is important to have representatives from all the districts gather together to reach a mutual understanding of the present circumstances unique to the various Kyodan districts and churches and to learn lessons from history as we plan for the future.” Korean Christian Church in Japan General Secretary Park Sookil expressed his prayer that a fruitful harvest would come out of this conference as he shared greetings filled with humor.

Three lecturers made presentations. In his presentation entitled “Reflecting on the History of the Kyodan,” General Secretary Naito Tomeyuki stated that the 150-year history of the Protestant Church in Japan can be divided into three 50-year periods. The first period focused on ecumenism. There was a great emphasis on church unity as opposed to the sectarianism and denominationalism that was prevalent in Europe and America. The second period was a time of militarism and war. It must be acknowledged that the church was unable to escape this influence while attempting to protect its confessional beliefs. At the same time, although political and military pressure cannot be denied, it was this conviction of the ideal of ecumenism that played an important role in the formation of the Kyodan.

In his discussion of the third period, Naito shared vivid recollections from his own experience of the Kyodan General Assembly and other events and examined them through the paradigm of the ecumenism of the church. Given his historical perspective and ecclesiology, Naito was critical of some of the events that have occurred since the 16th (1969) General Assembly. However, he concluded by referring to the hope that lies ahead.

While all three presenters dealt with very deep subjects, Yamaguchi Takayasu particularly did so in his lecture. Just as he promised, he condensed the contents of his book into one hour. The lecture was entitled “Evangelism from the Viewpoint of the (Kyodan’s) Confession of Faith and Constitution.” Organizationally independent from the government, the Kyodan is founded on its own constitution and confession because ecclesiology is the characteristic of a church and not of an association. Yamaguchi’s boldness was persuasive as he went against what is often considered to be common-sense understanding of the meaning of the Kyodan’s Constitution and its Confession of Faith.

Tomisato Church Pastor Uchida Hiroshi presented the third lecture, which was entitled “Cooperating in Evangelism.” From his background in church planting and cooperative mission, Uchida gave a very practical and well thought-out presentation. His first example was of how Shikoku District is working together cooperatively to do church planting. He emphasized how Shikoku District’s cooperative system has created the fellowship that exists between pastors and supporting churches. The second example was “church planting with the cooperation of a parent congregation.” The parenting church congregation organized a loose union to found a church located on the Hokuso train line. There are three reasons that were offered for why Chiba Hokusou Church was able to be established: responsible people, trust relationships, and the vision borne out of home gatherings.

Ou District Moderator Ohara Muneo, Tokai District Executive Council Member Nishinosono Michiko and Higashi Chugoku District Vice-moderator Miyakawa Tsunenobu gave their reports. All three seemed to be eagerly working at the task of finding concrete solutions. (Tr. AK)